When you get robbed by your own hired staff for everything you have in an ambiguously legal business, you don’t stick around; you pack up and set up shop somewhere new.

The original creator of the Murder by Death strain did just that. He left Northern California and made his way to the Great Lakes State. Now with a continuously growing legal operation under state law, he provides meticulously well-crafted medicinal marijuana to a variety of patients. He has spent between 10 and 15 years developing MxD, which has been crossed with more than 10 different strains.

Due to the still elevated tensions and high sense of security, the majority of his tale must remain in the dark. Though this is, through the expansion of his medical Marijuana business, he befriended two caregivers from Troy, MI, who gave us access to most of the information and samples of the MxD plant.

Photo by Kevin Nash

The two caregivers from Troy were born and raised in Michigan. Their upbringing was similar to that of most middle class suburbia. Somewhere along the road they caught wind of the cannabis culture, and it has now long been a movement they strongly identify with and believe in.

Reaching the age of 21, the Troy caregivers were legally able to grow for other people. Over a 5-year period, they have gone from one light and twelve plants in a spare bedroom to an operation with more than 60 plants.

“The only issue is that there are still many grey areas in legislation [in Michigan],” one of them said. “There is zero legislation on dispensaries, patient-to-patient transactions are blurry, and there is just too much ambiguity, flip flop, in the law.

“I would like it to be legalized for medicinal purposes. If you look at Colorado and their 36% tax, they’re taking the money that was once on the street and putting it in the state’s pocket … I have a college degree and a good job to fall back on in case it goes back to the way it was. We are providing a good service for our patients. The only way we’ll stop is if the state began to go backwards on legislation.”

The story behind the Murder by Death strain has portrayed many of the concerns, both negative and positive, with medicinal marijuana. Regardless, the fact still remains that Cannabis contains medicinal qualities that have been proven to help many.

“This is a strain favorite among our patients and they continue to request it for their medical needs,” one of the Troy caregivers said.

About Kevin Nash

Kevin is an Editor for HEAR Magazine, a contributing writer for Relix, HGMN, and Noodle.org. He currently lives in Detroit, Michigan where he can be close to his family.